Friday, September 26, 2014

My last night on the Northville-Plaicd Trail (September 25, 2013) was spent at Duck Hole--a beautiful basin on the edge of the High Peaks which is crossed by the Cold River. (Formerly damned and turned into a rather large pond, the dam was blown out by Hurricane Irene and will not be replaced.) Almost a year to the day later, with the autumn leaves nearing their peak, and the weather being pretty spectacular, Fr. Scott Belina and I headed in to pay a visit and stay the night on Wednesday-Thursday.

We'd be approaching Duck Hole from a new starting point for me: the Upper Works trailhead outside of Newcomb. The road in takes you through the Adirondack's own genuine ghost town, past the remains of the 1854 blast furnace of the McIntyre iron mine (which is much, MUCH larger than the picture makes it look) and a few crumbling buildings of the later Tahawus Club.

We passed some really, really beautiful spots after hitting the trail (including at least one we're seriously thinking of coming back to enjoy again)...

We also had to make a tricky detour around some "new construction"...by beaver. First, it seems, they redirected the stream right onto the trail--flooding it. Not yet satisfied, they then built another damn...right across the trail! I didn't take any pictures of that mess.

Eventually, we made it to the edge of Duck Hole and it's somewhat eerie landscape.

We had the place totally to ourselves, so we chose the better of the two lean-tos and had no trouble at all making ourselves feel right at home.

We also had a completely clear night, which made possible some rather amazing stargazing. After a quiet night and a good breakfast, we were back on the trail for the 7 mile return trip. (Now knowing our way around the "damn dam," we shaved an entire hour off our time heading in.)

Friday, September 19, 2014

Ever since I didn't quite make it to the top while ascending on XC skis and snowshoes back in February, nearby Debar Mountain has taunted me every time I see it when heading south on Route 30. Yesterday afternoon was finally time to settle the score. The steep slope at the end (I think it's about 800 feet elevation gain in a half a mile) brought us to some pretty sweet views of the sun almost ready to set...which also meant it was pretty dark before we got all the way back down again.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Recently, Public Health made a presentation to the County
Legislature on the topic of teen pregnancy.(The percentage of births from unplanned pregnancies in
Franklin Country is higher than that in surrounding counties and the state
average.)The subject at hand got
my attention, of course—but more on that later.What really caught my eye was that one of our legislators asked
if Public Health anticipated any “backlash” or “resistance from religious
groups.”

A couple of thoughts immediately crossed my mind.

First, I began to wonder if the reactions of people of faith
to matters of common concern in American life have grown so sharp, so shrill,
in recent years that we’ve caused ourselves to be considered little more than a
loud nuisance or an outright obstacle to solving social problems.If that is indeed the case, then shame
on us.We’ve shot ourselves in the
foot.We’ve forfeited our place in
the public square.

But then I also began to wonder if faith-based voices
weren’t just being hastily discounted as old-fashioned or unenlightened.That, too, would be quite a shame.I can’t speak for anyone else’s
religious tradition, but the Catholic Church has just shy of 2,000 years of
experience under it’s belt when it comes to promoting moral standards—a guide
for living upon which entire societies and noble cultures have been built.Sure, we haven’t always gotten it right,
but an honest look at history will show that we’ve had many more successes than
failures.(It’s particularly
ironic that such insights could be tossed aside as irrelevant or ill informed
in an age when “tolerance” is our highest value.)

I suspect the truth of the matter, however, is a bit of
both.

When Public Health presented its plan to the Legislature for
addressing teen pregnancy, a prime motivation given was a financial one: that
reducing pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases would save Franklin
County money.Providing our young
people with condoms and information via Facebook were essentially proposed as cost-cutting
measures.

What troubles me here is the failure to see people as
people, rather than as problems.You don’t “fix” people the way you fix a broken budget.You educate people—and not just in the
mechanics of their reproductive systems, but in the far more wondrous workings
of the human spirit.And you
ennoble people, helping them to recognize their innate dignity.None of these problems will go away as
long as we let stand the commonly accepted notion that sex can be a recreational
activity free of any conequences, rather than a truly human act with deep
meaning and purpose.Facebook
pages and free condoms may appear to address a few of the unhappy symptoms we
can all recognize, but they can never get to the heart of what’s really gone wrong.

You might be thinking, “But that’s not the role of a
government agency!”And I’d say
that you’re precisely right.Yet
there are experienced experts in this field, and we’re already right here in
the community.

We’re all in this
together. Give us a chance to
contribute. We’ll try not to
shout.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Only once did I ever sign up up for a competitive sport, and that was when I was on the basketball team of St. Peter's School for two seasons in junior high. (You'll notice I didn't say that I "played basketball" for two seasons...just that I was on the team.)

That is, until now.

On Sunday afternoon, I completed the Adirondack Canoe Classic--the annual 90 mile paddling race from Old Forge to Saranac Lake. And while we weren't registered in a competitive class, it was still a race...and I crossed a finish line for the first time in my life.

And it was awesome.

I'm so grateful to my canoeing companion, Rev. Lawrence Bartel, the pastor of Niccolls Memorial Presbyterian Church in Old Forge. He's completed the race a few times before, and his persistence in asking me to do this over the 8 years I've known him finally paid off. "If you could hike the Northville-Placid Trail," he said, "you can paddle the 90-Miler." I'm so glad I (eventually) believed him.

Our smiles are a real testament that three full days in a canoe hadn't hurt our friendship, but only helped it to grow. Prior to the race, we'd already been dubbed the "Holy Rowers," and an anonymous benefactor gifted us with T-shirts. Along the way, we picked up a second title: the "Paddling Pastors."

My bright red hat was worn for purely practical purposes: to keep the hot sun off Friday and Sunday, and to keep the cold rain off on Saturday. It's notable color was purely for financial reasons: it was on sale! Nonetheless, it became a "thing" as we made our way across many an Adirondack waterway (20 distinct ones, by my calculations), with a surprising number of our fellow paddlers tossing compliments in my direction. Unfortunately, at about mile 89, the wind tossed my red hat right off my head and into the lake. Our official cumulative time after three days on the water was 19:03:21; that three minutes is, no doubt, thanks to rescuing my headgear. ("No hat left behind," as some fellow paddlers commented.)

We were cheered on from our very first strokes as we left Old Forge Pond (we're the boat immediately to the left of the hardcore guy on the stand-up paddle board)...

...as we toted our canoe over the 8 carries of the race (total of 5.35 miles on land), and as we crossed the floating finish line in Lake Flower.

It was most encouraging to have my own entourage of fans waiting there on the shore in Saranac Lake, including my mom, brother priests, parish staff members, and parishioners. As we were in the home stretch, I could actually hear them over the rest of the crowd (I'm pretty sure that was mostly thanks to Fr. Tom). I'm so grateful to everybody who came out to support us along the way!

I wish I had some pictures for you of the amazing sights seen on our watery route...but putting down your paddle to take photos just isn't a priority when you're racing.

We camped overnight Friday and Saturday at Fish Creek Ponds with the very capable assistance of our "pit crew," Lawrence's father, father-in-law, and son.

Injuries were minor, thank God: muscles were sore, a little sunburn here-and-there, a few unexplained cuts. My most troublesome first aid issue was rather ironically on my feet: bleeding blisters on both of my heels were already in full effect when we were on just the second carry of day one. (There's nothing quite like watching a little pool of your own blood slosh around in the muddy bottom of your boat to give you a real sense of accomplishment.)

I would have never guessed what 90 miles in a canoe would have done for me. For one thing, it gave me two nights of camping out--bringing me a month closer to a year-long goal. But I also made some new and interesting friends. ("We might look like normal people," one of the organizers said of the paddling community during daily announcements on the last day, "but we're not.") I took in some truly incredible scenery. And I discovered a strength within myself that I didn't even know might be there.

Mary, Virgin and Mother

We fly to your patronage,O holy Mother of God;despise not our petitions

in our necessities,but deliver us from all evil,O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Saint Joseph

Pray for us!

"St. Joseph was

an ordinary sort of man

on whom God relied

to do great things."

--St. Josemaria Escriva

Saint Barnabas

Pray for us!

"...Joseph,

also named by the apostles Barnabas

(which is translated

son of encouragement)..."

--Acts 4:36

Saint Bruno

Pray for us!

"Only those who have experienced

the solitude and silence

of the wilderness

can know the benefit and divine joy

they bring to those who love them."

--St. Bruno

(1030-1101)

Saint Francis of Assisi

Pray for us!

"You should never let anyone

leave your presence in sadness."

--St. Francis of Assisi

(1181-1226)

Saint Philip Neri

Pray for us!

"A servant of God

ought always to be happy."

--St. Philip Neri

(1515-1595)

Saint John Francis Regis

Pray for us!

"No violence of cold, no snows...,

no mountains, or torrents...,

could be an obstacle to his zeal."

--comment of a contemporary

of St. John Francis Regis

(1597-1640)

Saint John Mary Vianney

Pray for us!

"Our faults

are like grains of sand

next to the great mountain

of the mercies of God."

--St. John Vianney

(1786-1859)

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Pray for us!

"The value of life does not depend

upon the place we occupy;

it depends upon the way

we occupy that place."

--St. Thérèse of Lisieux

(1873-1897)

Saint André Bessette

Pray for us!

"It is with the smallest brushes

that the Artist paints

the most exquisitely

beautiful pictures."

--St. André Bessette

(1845-1937)

Blessed Charles de Foucauld

Pray for us!

"The absence of risk

is a sure sign

of mediocrity."

--Blessed Charles de Foucauld

(1858-1916)

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Pray for us!

"The higher we go,

the better we shall hear

the voice of Christ."

--Blessed Pier Girogio Frassati

(1901-1925)

Saint John Paul II

Pray for us!

"Up to the evening of your life

remain in wonder and gratitude

for that mysterious call

which one day echoed

in the depths of your spirit:

Follow me!”

--Blessed John Paul II

(1920-2005)

Keep smiling!

“I’m not a man who constantly thinks up jokes. But I think it’s very important to be able to see the funny side of life and its joyful dimension and not to take everything too tragically. I’d also say it’s necessary for my ministry. A writer once said that angels can fly because they don't take themselves too seriously. Maybe we could also fly a bit if we didn’t think we were so important.”